A dispute between two residents of a mental health facility in Brooklyn ended in a tragedy last weekend.
Brandon Paulino, 30, baselessly accused Eduardo Martinez of raping a 3-year-old girl and started a fight outside the MacDougal Street Apartments home for the mentally ill where they both resided.
The fight that occurred at around 1:40 p.m. Sunday ended when Martinez placed Paulino in a chokehold until he became unconscious.
The schizophrenic man was rushed to Interfaith Medical Center where he passed away at 2:53 p.m.
The medical examiner’s office determined he died from asphyxiation. Martinez insisted that he did not intend to kill Paulino.
Paulino’s family said he was having “an episode” and had not received his medication when he attacked Martinez, a neighbor he thought of as a friend.
“He gets paranoid when he doesn’t get his medication. He got out of breath and collapsed. [Martinez] killed him by choking him,” Paulino’s sister said.
Martinez was charged with manslaughter and ordered held on $100,000 bond. His attorney believes he acted in self-defense.
